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The first thing that I did was call my friend Joe to talk with him about it. Joe and I share similar world views and we're both hungry for new information and for that which we perceive as the truth. Granted, we're both die hard humanist liberals.
We've seen all the Robert Greenwald documentaries.
We both saw all of the Michael Moore films.
We both made a special night for watching "Control Room" the documentary about Al Jazira.
We like these sorts of movies.
They inform us and shine lights in corners of the world that are usually hidden to two middle class, Chicago residents with no close ties to politics. We devour them hungrily, like readers in the 50's would've devoured Kerouac and Ginsberg. It insulates us for living in a world where an entire new network is openly co-opted by religious extremists, neo-conservatives and regularly edits and ignores news to highlight a political agenda over the truth. This is a NEWS network that we're talking about here.
So, when I finished watching this movie, the first thing that I wanted to do was discuss it with Joe. He didn't answer his phone. So, instead, I am coming here to discuss it with you.
First of all, this is an exceptionally well made documentary film. It's a documentary about Marc Levin, a Jewish filmmaker who examines anti-semitism which has seemed to flourish since 9/11 and how it stems from a Russian propaganda piece called "The protocols of the Elders of Zion." I have to admit before I saw this film, I'd never seen nor heard of the "The protocols of Zion" but then again, I'm not a racist and bigot, so it never made it onto my reading list. The "POZ" claims to be the minutes of a meeting by a secret society of Jewish elders who met around 1900 to outline their secret plan to take over the world and control all societies.Globally.
The whole world.
From the top to the bottom.
Some of their ideas include "producing mass media to divert the interests of the people away from revolution", "Suppression of alternative faiths" and "Control of all journalism to control the printed truth".
It's all bullshit though.
The book was printed in 1905 by Russian agents of the Czar to denounce the godlessness of the rising tide of communism. Which was thought to be created by and championed by the Russian Jews. The book was taken quite seriously at the time but was eventually researched by the London Times and found to be baseless and entirely fictional.
And yet it's still being printed today and is a popular best seller and is the treasure trove of "truth" for the masses of anti-semites of the world.
The movie, "The Protocols of Zion", elaborates on the books history and shows it's influence today. In the movie you meet the owner of a White Supremacists group that prints and ships the book (as well as Nazi coffee mugs and swastika flags) to anyone who wants a copy. (In the movie, its sold out and on back order when the camera crews visit the warehouse.) That's him to the right talking to Levin.(They have an amusing exchange over the possibility of Hitler having had Jewish ancestry and so hated it that he made anti-semitism a foundation of the Third Reich.
"Well, only a Jewish mind coult think that up" says The Skinhead Salesman.
"I don't know," says Levin. "That theory has been floated around."
"Well, why would he do that, then? Work so hard to eliminate something that he was a part of" asks the SS.
"Self Loathing, maybe. Maybe he wanted to kill that part of himself. Suicidal tendancies." offers Levin.
The SS is stunned. "I don't see Hitler as being self-loathing or suicidal."
"Yes, but he killed himself. He actually commited suicide" offers Levin.
And the film cuts away before the Salesman actually says, "Oh yeah, that's right. Whoops! My bad!.")
The movie expands its view to examine all the ways that anti-semitism is aired in our country today.
You'll see angry blacks decrying the holocaust, because it takes focus away from their own claims of intolerance.
You meet the owner and operator of the "Jew Watch" website.
You see how "The Passion of the Christ" stirs up anti-semitic feelings in the Christian community.
You'll see Palestinians grieving for the founder of Hamas, and airing their views on Israel.
You'll see an 3 year old Arabic child who quietly explains that "Jews are apes and pigs" because the "Koran told [her] so."
And you'll meet one of the chief coroners for Ground Zero who patiently explains that the "rumor" that the Jews were notified of the attacks and were warned away from work on 9/11 is absolutely false. He has the bone fragments from his friends leg to prove it.
The voices of hatred for Jews that you hear in the film range from the vitriolic and inarticulately manic to the calm and patiently justified. But the message stays the same. "My particular party is better than the Jews, because the Jews control everything. " The paradox is never commented upon.
In the midst of all of this angry emotion, wades the filmmaker Mark Levin, who very smartly introduces us to his father at the start of the film. His father explains his own world view quietly and rationally. At his advanced age, he is patient with the ignorant and is a model of tolerance. I can see why Levin introduces us to him, early on in the film.
It's a very powerful film, Dear Reader. It exposes hatred and bigotry for the ugly denial of reality that it has to be in order to exist. It silently bears witness to demagogury of hatred. Once you hear the words spoken with conviction by the Confidently Ignorant, you clearly see what side of the argument you HAVE to fall on, if you are to be a humanist and if you are concern yourself with the well being of your fellow man.
I think it should be shown in college humanity courses and in churches of all faiths. And most importantly, it should be shown in the dark corners of the world where anti-semitism is the fuel that feeds the anger of the religiously extreme.
Do yourself a favor and seek this very powerful film out and experience it for yourself. And if you have a friend like Joe, of your own, someone who also is interested in the world around you and thirsts for knowledge, seek them out and watch it with them. And both of you can be enriched by it.
Go see this movie.
Mr. B
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